Nvidia and Salesforce Rallies Carry the Nasdaq 100 Higher

Technology shares led Wall Street on Thursday, August 27, 2026, after Nvidia, Salesforce and other companies reported spring-quarter profits above analyst expectations, with the Nasdaq 100 tracker QQQ up 1.09% at $719.15 as of 16:05 GMT, Nvidia up 8.15% and Salesforce up 19.08%.

Technology shares did the heavy lifting on Wall Street on Thursday, and the spread between the major benchmarks showed exactly where the buying went. The Nasdaq 100 tracker (QQQ) traded at $719.15, up 1.09% from the prior close of $711.37, as of 16:05 GMT. The S&P 500 tracker (SPY) was at $770.88, up 0.63%. The Dow 30 tracker (DIA) managed $535.76, up 0.29% — a gap of roughly 0.80 percentage points behind the Nasdaq measure on the day.

The trigger was earnings. Nvidia (NVDA), Salesforce (CRM) and other technology companies reported spring-quarter profits that came in above what analysts had modelled, and in their commentary tied the outperformance to demand for artificial intelligence products and infrastructure, as BNN Bloomberg reported.

What the two headline names actually did

Nvidia changed hands at 226.75, up 8.15% from a prior close of 209.66 — a move of about 17.09 points, with the session range running from 220.90 to 227.31. The stock spent the day in the upper part of that band, which is the signature of a move that held rather than one that faded into the afternoon.

Salesforce was the larger percentage mover of the pair: 244.86, up 19.08% from 205.62, a gain of roughly 39.24 points. Its intraday range was wider — 230.05 to 250.75 — which is what you expect when a stock reprices in a single session rather than drifting. A near-20% one-day move in a company of Salesforce's size is not an incremental adjustment to a forecast; it is the market marking down its prior assumption and starting again.

The distinction between the two matters. Nvidia's 8.15% is a continuation move in a stock the market already treats as the primary way to own AI demand. Salesforce's 19.08% has the shape of a relief rally — the kind that happens when expectations going in were low enough that clearing them is itself the news.

Why the Dow was left behind

A 0.29% day for the Dow tracker against 1.09% for the Nasdaq 100 tracker tells you this was not a broad risk-on session. Money moved toward companies with a credible line from AI spending to reported profit, and the industrial, consumer and financial names that dominate the Dow's price-weighted construction do not have that line — or at least, not one investors are willing to pay for on the day.

The S&P 500 tracker sat between the two at 0.63%, which is roughly what happens when a handful of very large technology constituents carry an index whose remaining members are flat. That concentration is now a structural feature of the American market rather than a quirk of one session, and it cuts both ways: the same weighting that produced Thursday's gain would amplify a disappointment from the same names.

The capex question behind the beats

The bull case in Thursday's tape is straightforward: AI demand is real, it is showing up in reported quarters rather than in projections, and the companies selling into it are converting it to profit faster than analysts expected. That is a materially better argument than the one available a couple of years ago, when the case rested on forecasts.

The complication is circularity. A large share of the revenue recognised by AI infrastructure suppliers comes from capital spending by a small number of very large buyers. As long as those buyers keep raising budgets, the suppliers keep beating. The moment budgets flatten, the revenue does not merely grow more slowly — it stops growing, because the demand was a spending decision rather than a consumption habit.

Software is a different exposure. When a company like Salesforce says AI is driving growth, it is describing customers paying more for products they use in daily operations. That revenue is stickier than a data-centre order, but it is also slower to show up and harder to attribute cleanly. Investors were paying up for both stories on Thursday, and they are not the same story.

What to watch from here

Three things will decide whether this holds:

• Whether the gains stick. Both Nvidia and Salesforce finished the measured session near the upper end of their day ranges. Follow-through in the next few sessions distinguishes a re-rating from a squeeze.
• Capital spending guidance from the buyers. The suppliers' beats are only as durable as the budgets funding them. Any signal that the largest AI infrastructure purchasers are moderating would hit the supply chain before it hit anything else.
• Breadth. If the Dow tracker's 0.29% starts converging upward toward the Nasdaq's move, the AI trade is broadening into the wider economy. If the gap persists or widens, the market is making an increasingly narrow bet.

The Canadian read-across

For Canadian investors the transmission is mostly indirect. There is no domestic equivalent of Nvidia on the TSX, and Canada's index is weighted toward banks, energy and materials rather than semiconductors and enterprise software. What Canadian portfolios do get is exposure through US-listed holdings and through the sentiment channel: a strong session for American technology tends to lift risk appetite north of the border the following morning, without necessarily lifting Canadian earnings.

The more meaningful domestic link is capital spending. AI data centres consume power, land, construction capacity and industrial metals, and those are inputs Canada supplies. That is a slower and less visible connection than a single-day share move, but it is the one that persists if the spending cycle does.

For now, the honest summary of Thursday is narrow and specific: two large technology companies beat expectations, the market paid up for both, and the index that holds the most technology went up the most. All figures cited here are intraday, as of 16:05 GMT on August 27, 2026, and the session was still open when they were struck.

Key facts

• Nvidia (NVDA): 226.75, +8.15% (as of 16:05 GMT, Aug 27, 2026)
• Salesforce (CRM): 244.86, +19.08% (as of 16:05 GMT, Aug 27, 2026)
• Nasdaq 100 tracker (QQQ): $719.15, +1.09% on the day
• Dow 30 tracker (DIA): $535.76, +0.29% — the day's laggard

Frequently asked questions

How much did Nvidia and Salesforce rise on August 27, 2026?

Nvidia traded at 226.75, up 8.15% from its prior close of 209.66, with an intraday range of 220.90 to 227.31. Salesforce traded at 244.86, up 19.08% from a prior close of 205.62, ranging between 230.05 and 250.75. Both figures are intraday, as of 16:05 GMT while the market was still open.

Why did technology stocks lead the market that day?

Nvidia, Salesforce and other technology companies reported spring-quarter profits above analyst expectations and attributed the outperformance to demand tied to artificial intelligence. Investors concentrated buying in those names, which is why the Nasdaq 100 tracker rose 1.09% while the Dow 30 tracker managed only 0.29% on the same session.

How did the three main US benchmarks compare?

As of 16:05 GMT on August 27, 2026, the Nasdaq 100 tracker QQQ was at $719.15, up 1.09%. The S&P 500 tracker SPY was at $770.88, up 0.63%. The Dow 30 tracker DIA was at $535.76, up 0.29%. The roughly 0.80-point spread between the Nasdaq and Dow moves shows how narrow the rally was.

What is the main risk to the AI earnings trade?

Much of the revenue recognised by AI infrastructure suppliers comes from capital spending decisions by a small number of very large buyers. If those budgets flatten, supplier revenue does not just slow — it stops growing, because the demand reflects a spending cycle rather than recurring consumption. Watching buyer capex guidance is therefore central.

Is Salesforce's move different in character from Nvidia's?

Yes. Nvidia's 8.15% gain extends a stock the market already treats as the main way to own AI hardware demand. Salesforce's 19.08% jump is closer to a relief rally, where expectations going into the report were subdued enough that simply clearing them forced a large single-day repricing rather than an incremental adjustment.

What does this session mean for Canadian investors?

The direct effect is limited, because the TSX is weighted toward banks, energy and materials rather than semiconductors or enterprise software. Canadian exposure comes mainly through US-listed holdings and sentiment spillover. The more durable link is that AI data-centre construction consumes power, industrial metals and building capacity that Canada supplies.

Sources

• Tech stocks lead Wall Street after Nvidia, Salesforce and others say AI is creating big growth — BNN Bloomberg

Photo: Nataliya Vaitkevich · Pexels Licence — source